Clip for straddling and gripping a supporting flange and blank therefor



Nov. 1, 1966 R. cs. BRIGHT 3,

CLIP FOR STRADDLING AND GRIPPING A SUPPORTING FLANGE AND BLANK THEREFORFiled May 8, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VE N TOR BY 'Dsm FAmIsAHKv l /uurHATTORNEYS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 611mm: 73R m-HT' #:iscH

ATTORNEYQ R. G. BRIGHT Karisraf' BY DEAN FAIRBAMI Nov. 1, 1966 CLIP FORSTRADDLING AND GRIPPING A SUPPORTING FLANGE AND BLANK THEREFOR Filed Maya, 1963 United States Patent Office 3,282,657 Patented Nov. 1, 19663,282,657 CLIP FOR STRADDLING AND GRIPPING A SUP- PORTING FLANGE ANDBLANK THEREFOR Robert Granville Bright, Leamington Spa, England, as-

signor to Bright Manufacturing Company Limited, Coventry, England FiledMay 8, 1963, Ser. No. 278,853 Claims priority, application GreatBritain, Feb. 13, 1963, 5,870/ 63 13 Claims. (Cl. 29-1835) Thisinvention relates to sealing or trimming strips intended either asdraught or Weather excluders or as ornamental trimming strips for hidingan otherwise unsightly flange, such sealing or trimming strips beingused on motor vehicles and attached to a supporting flange immediatelysurrounding a door or other closure member or in some cases surroundingthe head lining of a motor vehicle.

The present invention is primarily concerned with a continuous clip forstraddling and making frictional engagement with a supporting flange,the chief object of the invention being to provide an improved clipwhich can be cheaply and easily manufactured, which can be constructedsatisfactorily from comparatively cheap material such as mild steel andat the same time will be capable of universal bending movement aboutcurves of comparatively small radius without risk of the clip losing itseffective grip.

A clip in accordance with the present invention is produced from stripor sheet material, the blank being formed with a series of transverseslots spaced apart throughout its length, the blank being bent along itslongitudinal axis into substantially inverted U shape, the marginaledges of the blank being bent inwardly and upwardly to form resilienttongues which directly or indirectly engage opposite sides of thesupporting flange.

The marginal edges of the blank may make linear engagement with thesupporting flange but it is preferred that each edge shall becastellated or be of wavy or zigzag formation to provide a series ofspaced flange engaging portions.

Furthermore it is preferred that the marginal edges of the blank shallbe inclined upwardly and inwardly to the point where they engage theflange to provide a lead to facilitate pressing the clip into positionon the flange and to more effectively resist its accidentaldisplacement.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

FIGURES 1 to 3 are perspective views of a portion of the blank inprocess of being bent into clip like form;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a portion of the completed clip;

FIGURES 5 and 6 are ide and end elevations thereof;

FIGURES 7, 8, 9 and 10 are sectional views illustrating the clip inassociation with four forms of draught excluding strips.

Referring in the first case to FIGURES 1 to 6 of the accompanyingdrawings which illustrate the formation of a continuous clip inaccordance with the invention, the clip is produced from strip or sheetmaterial for example mild steel or aluminum, the blank being formed witha series of transverse slots 1 alternating with transverse ribs 2connected by marginal parts 3.

The flat blank shown in FIGURE 1 is bent transversely at spaced points 4and 5 near each marginal edge as in FIGURE 2 to form limbs 6 hereinafterreferred to.

The limbs 6 are then folded inwardly in opposite directions at points 4so that the blank has the formation shown in FIGURE 3.

The blank shown in FIGURE 3 is then bent transversely intermediatepoints 4 so that it assumes the substantially inverted U shape as inFIGURES 4 and 6 wherein the limbs 6 project upwardly in spacedrelationship within the clip and constitute resilient tongues fordirectly or indirectly engaging a supporting flange on which the clip isplaced.

It is preferred that the edges of the marginal parts 3 shall becastellated as at 7 or of wavy or zig-zag formation to form a series ofspaced flange engaging pressure points. These pressure points may infact be com-para tively sharp particularly if it i desired that theyshall perforate the usual clip covering material and thus directlyengage the supporting flange.

As will be seen clearly in FIGURE 6, the upper ends of the limbs 6 areinclined upwardly and inwardly to provide a lead to facilitate pressingthe clip into position on the flange and to more effectively resist itsaccidental displacement.

The limbs 6 constituting the resilient tongues may be of any suitablelength but are preferably such that the flange engaging parts aresituated substantially midway of the depth of the clip when the latteris bent into its final shape, the two marginal connecting parts 3constituting a central duplex spine together forming a neutrallongitudinal axis about which bending movement of the clip will takeplace when the clip is bent into curved shape in any plane or planes.

It will be appreciated that the limbs 6 can flex about the bendingpoints 4 and also possibly to a certain extent throughout their lengthto resiliently grip the supporting flange and also accommodatethemselves to flanges of diflerent thickness.

When intended for use as a trimming strip it is merely necessary toapply a strip 8 of woven fabric, plastic or other covering material tothe clip as in FIGURE 7, but without the sealing section shown, thelongitudinal edges 9 of the covering strip being turned inwardly andupwardly around the lower edges of the limbs 6 of the Clip and securedin position by adhesive, by sewing or in any other suitable manner.

The width of the covering strip is preferably such that its marginaledges lying within the clip project upwardly just short of thecastellated flange engaging parts 3 but it is within the scope of theinvention to extend the edges of the covering material upwardly so thatthe edges will be gripped between the castellated parts and the flangein which case the flange engaging parts may be formed as comparativelysharp tangs in which case the edges of the covering material may beactually perforated by the tangs, thereby in either case maintaining thecovering material in position without it is thought the necessity toemploy an adhesive or sewing to hold the strip in position.

When employing sewing to hold the covering strip in position cardboardor other suitable packing strip 10 may be introduced into the bend ofthe limbs 6 as in FIG- URES '8 and 9, the lines of stitching 11 passingthrough the longitudinal edges of the covering material, the slots 1 andthe packing strips 10.

These packing pieces may if desired be composed of rubber to improve theresiliency of the flange engaging parts of the clip.

In FIGURES 7 to 9 is shown a sealing section 12 composed of spongerubber or other suitable resilient material which is intended to makesealing engagement with a door or other closure member and also makegood sealing engagement with a part 13 with which the flange 14 isassociated and thus prevent entry of water or moisture into the interiorof the clip and onto the supporting flange.

In FIGURE 7 the sealing section 12 is intended to be adhesively securedto the covering material 8 and to make sealing engagement with theflange 14 and part 13 at points 15 and 16.

In FIGURE 8 the covering material is of narrower Width, the sealingsection being stitched at 17 to the covering material whilst the sealingsection is stitched to the clip at 18.

In FIGURE 9 the covering material is again of narrow width and isadhesively secured to a comparatively cheap lining material 19 such ashessian. The comparatively cheap lining material extends into theinterior of the clip, the edges of the lining being gripped between thecastellated parts and the flange. The part of the lining 19 whichcontacts the sealing section may be adhesively secured or stitchedthereto. It will be appreciated therefore that none of the liningmaterial will be visible when the section is in position upon thesupporting flange.

If the sealing section 12 in FIGURE 9 is not required the coveringmaterial 8 will be of greater width but not so wide as is the case inFIGURE 7, the left hand side of the covering being continued downwardlyan amount corresponding with the part of the covering on the right sideof FIGURE 9. p

In FIGURE 10 the clip is of a slightly different crosssectional shape tothe clips previously illustrated in that the lower right hand edge 20 ofthe clip is bent inwardly to actually indirectly engage the supportingflange, thus preventing any tendency for the clip to rock on the flangein a clockwise direction and cause the edge 15 of the sealing section tomove out of sealing engagement with the flange. In this case the sealingsection is stitched to the covering strip at 11, the opposite edge ofthe covering strip extending upwardly sufliciently to be gripped betweenthe parts 6 of the clip and the flange.

It will be appreciated that the resilient tongues will flex from theirflange engaging parts to the lower edges of the clip and consequentlythey will frictionally grip the flange even though the flange may beabnormally thick as in the case of a flange composed of threethicknesses of sheet metal as compared with the more usual flangecomposed of two pieces of metal secured together by welding.

I claim:

1. A clip for straddling and gripping a supporting flange, said clipcomprising a series of juxtaposed inverted substantially U-shaped ribs,connector portions integral with said ribs retaining the latter inspaced relationship, said connector portions being situated adjacent tothe longitudinal axis of the clip about which bending movement of theclip will take place, said longitudinal axis being substantially midwayof the depth of the clip. 2. A clip as claimed in claim 1 wherein thefree ends of the legs of the U-shaped ribs are bent inwardly andupwardly into the interior of the clip and form resilient limbs forgripping such supporting flange.

3. A clip for straddling and gripping an elongated supporting flange,said clip comprising a series of juxtaposed inverted substantiallyU-shaped ribs each having a pair of resilient legs, the lower end ofeach leg being bent inwardly and upwardly into the interior of the clip,a connecting portion integral with the clip and extending longitudinallythereof between the extremities of said inwardly bent ends of the ribsto form two spaced connected rows of legs, said rows extending parallelto and being slightly spaced from the longitudinal axis of said clip,said longitudinal axis being substantially midway of the depth of theclip and midway between the inwardly bent ends of the rows of legs.

4. A clip as claimed in claim 3 in which a portion of the free ends ofthe legs at the extremities thereof are inclined inwardly to provide alead to facilitate pressing the clip into position on the flange andmore effectively to resist accidental displacement of the clip.

5. A clip as claimed in claim 3 wherein the resilient flange engaginglegs have a length such that their extremities lie at a positionsubstantially midway of the depth of the clip.

6. A clip as claimed in claim 3 wherein the resilient legs are spacedfrom the inner surface of the clip throughout their full length.

'7. A clip assembly as claimed in claim 3 wherein said ribs have acovering strip thereon.

8. A clip assembly as claimed in claim 7 wherein the longitudinal edgesof the-covering strip are turned inwardly and upwardly into the interiorof the clip.

9. A clip assembly as claimed in claim 7 wherein the covering strip issecured to a lining strip having a width greater than the coveringstrip, the longitudinal edges of the lining only being turned inwardlyand upwardly into the interior of the clip.

10. A clip assembly as claimed in claim 7 wherein the covering stripcarries a sealing section of resilient material.

11. A clip assembly as claimed in claim 10 wherein the covering stripand sealing section is secured by being sewn to the clip and the clipincorporates'packing strips in the bends of the resilient limbs of theclip to locate the stitches.

12. A blank for forming a clip for straddling and gripping a supportingflange, said blank comprising an elongated substantially rectangularstrip of sheet material having a plurality of spaced parallel transverseslots between the longitudinal edges thereof, thereby providing aplurality of spaced parallel ribs connected at their extremities by thelongitudinal edge portions of the strip.

13. The blank as claimed in claim 12 in which the longitudinal edges ofthe strip are serrated to define a plurality of outwardly extendinggripping portions aligned with an associated rib.

DAVID L. RECK, Primary Examiner.

HYLAND BIZOT, Examiner.

R. O. DEAN, Assistant Examiner.

1. A CLIP FOR STRADDING AND GRIPPING A SUPPORTING FLANGE, SAID CLIPCOMPRISING A SERIES OF JUXTAPOSED INVERTED SUBSTANTIALLY U-SHAPED RIBS,CONNECTOR PORTIONS INTEGRAL WITH SAID RIBS RETAINING THE LATER IN SPACEDRELATIONSHIP, SAID CONNECTOR PORTIONS BEING SITUATED ADJACENT TO THELONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE CLIP ABOUT WHICH BENDING MOVEMENT OF THE CLIPWILL TAKE PLACE, SAID LONGITUDINAL AXIS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY MIDWAY OFTHE DEPTH OF THE CLIP.